Meanwhile, enjoy your flights--"British Airways said that it has begun checks on its 117 Boeing aircraft which are believed to have faulty fuel pumps capable of causing a mid-air explosion. Boeing has admitted that 3,284 passenger jets around the world are affected. Checks and replacements are expected to take three years."--The Times of London.

Cramped like a coach seat--Don’t ask us the model number of the Boeing planes with the "faulty" fuel pumps cited above. Apparently the Times lacked space to include it.

Right they are--"More than 200 Israelis called up for national service refused to serve in an ‘army of occupation’ and accused Israel of ‘committing war crimes and violating human rights’ in Palestinian territories."--Agence France Presse.

Like him: racist tongue, limp brain--David Blunkett, British home secretary, declared that people from other lands should learn English and, particularly important, speak it to their children at home. This, he opined, will keep the children from getting "schizophrenic."

Tip for seniors --If you’ve noticed that as the years roll by, you tend to shrink, you may want to check out the hi-tech toilet on display in Tokyo. Its motorized seat adjusts automatically to your height. It’s also said to analyze urine and send suspicious results to your doctor (Price and availability not yet posted).

Also--To avoid a second trip to the grocery and if you dejunk the fridge periodically, you can set up a small revolving camcorder that can be triggered from the market by a cell phone, providing an immediate picture of what’s there and what’s not.

Too rich to take?--Bush’s 15-member cabinet includes 10 millionaires, which doesn’t sound like much these days. The biggest money bag is Paul O’Neill, former top dog at Alcoa aluminum. Currently secretary of the treasury and, according to "disclosure" requirements, he’s "worth" somewhere between $67 million and $253 million.

Sure, and shafting employees and public--In his how-I-did-it book, Rudolph Giuliani, ex-mayor of the New York says his "success" in running the city stemmed from treating it like a business.

Whatever turns him on--Price, Waterhouse, etc., is now under federal scrutiny for sloppy auditing of Tyco Int’l, the cooked books specialist. However, we can easily understand the $30 million Florida home for deposed top dog Dennis Kozlowski, but we are smitten by the trinkets and trifles. F’rinstance: A $17,200 traveling toilet box [?]; a $15,000 [top?]dog umbrella stand; $5,960 for two sets of bed sheets; $2,900 for a set of coat hangers; a $1,650 for a notebook, and finally, $445 for a pin cushion. We’re still perplexed--Where in hell do you buy a $2,900 set of coat hangers, even with someone else’s money?  
 
 
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